Our Colorado Home: Dining Room Tour

Our dining room may be my favorite room in the house. It's large, open, and gets as much sunlight as a girl could want throughout the day thanks to those gloriously large, West-facing windows. Other than having my heart set on a more modern drum shade rather than the original fixture and a second layer of curtains for night time privacy, this room is finally finished. 

It's very different than any other dining space we've had as our last home didn't have a designated area so we made things work at one end of our living room. The rental before that had a medium dining room but I used it primarily as studio space. I've had the yellow fiberglass chairs for about two years after buying them from a friend in Springfield and found the two vintage school chairs in an antique shop near Oklahoma City for a song. They used to go with the kitchenette that I stole those hairpin legs from.

Don't hate me but I found the vintage rug in a warehouse moving sale in a tiny town in Oklahoma for $35. I had asked about a few things in the store that weren't marked and was frustrated that none of them seemed to be for sale and was about to walk out when I spotted it. I almost squealed when she wanted $35 and couldn't get to the cash register fast enough! This is the only room in the house it'll fit since it's so long but I love how it's become the focal point for the rest of the decor.

I found the vintage record table recently at a flea market as well as the minty blue typewriter. It's my favorite out of my whole collection. The yellow typewriter was thrifted awhile back in MO. The wooden #3 was purchased at the Alameda Flea Market in 2008 and the plant and planter are from Lowe's.

The mirror and gas station sign were thrifted in Springfield and the vintage school table was gifted by my in-laws. It makes a great record stand for our Crosley. I keep our growing record collection in a large metal milk crate below the desk but we may need to figure out another system soon.

The large white wardrobe used to be Ruby's makeshift closet but has been repurposed as our office space. I found it at a mom and pop used furniture shop in MO and power sanded it and painted it while eight months pregnant with her. It was a labor of love! The vintage globes have been collected from various thrift stores in MO and the large vintage map was an Etsy purchase. The DIY for adding dowels to a map can be found here.

The vintage kids' table was Ruby's Christmas present. I thrifted it and the brown chair in Springfield but found the aqua school chair way back in 2008 on our move from Fresno, CA to Springfield, MO. It rode on my lap most of the way. 

Our growth chart needs updated.

I found the wooden folding chair at a thrift store for $5 but it had a torn cover so I reupholstered it as a project in my Modern Patchwork e-course. It hasn't had a place to sit out for over a year so I'm glad I can finally enjoy it.

That little nook was a good spot to hang this old sock dryer. I have three of them in various colors that have been waiting for some extra wall space to be displayed! I recently noticed on Instagram that my dear friend, Rubyellen, has one as well in the same color!

You can see into our little hallway and bathroom here. The plant stand was a recent thrift here in CO but the mirror has been in various parts of the last two homes we've lived in.

You can read all about my dining room table search that turned into a DIY here.

I bought this from YeeHaw press about a month ago and just learned they're going out of business. I know they'll be missed.

I'm taking this photo from the front of the house looking through to the back where you can see our kitchen. Our living room spans the front width of the house and I've turned it into two sitting areas but it's not quite ready for it's full reveal. You'll see why in a minute. 

Basically, everything in this photo was thrifted except for the IKEA pillow and sheep skin and the pink Modernica shell chair.

This is the view from the kitchen looking to the front of the house. I've recently taken down the flannel cranberry curtains that were hanging over the sheer drapes and it's made it feel like a whole new space. It's amazing how something that doesn't fit your aesthetic can change your feelings about your environment. It's so much brighter now, although we can't walk around naked at night.

You do it, too.

Just to keep it real, here is the other side of our living room. The laundry pile has been there for over a week, the homeless chalkboard panel was moved out of a previous shot and propped up here, there are toys usually strewn about in one corner or another from that week's activities, and I still have lots of stuff that I haven't found a place to put (floor lamps, picture frames, etc.). You can also see into our little bedroom. Our bed was unmade and those ugly curtains were draped across the top waiting to be folded and bagged until we move out.

I spent a lot of time getting my dining room clean for these photos and while this is the general structure in it's ideal form, things are usually in much more 'lived in' conditions unless company is coming over. We don't mind it that way and I'll gladly share our everyday messes on Instagram and in future posts but I like seeing it like it at it's very best, too. 

I'm going to continue to share room tours of our new space as those rooms feel put together. It's good motivation for me to get things done!

I'm happy to respond to any questions about my aesthetic or where I found something in the comments below. I've also shared almost everything I know about designing a home you love in my e-course, Style Your Space, if you're looking for something much more in depth.

Thanks for reading!

-Rachel